


Through The Night

by HunterusHeroicus93



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:15:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28586334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HunterusHeroicus93/pseuds/HunterusHeroicus93
Summary: Buck gets hurt on a call, and Eddie refuses to leave his side.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 236





	Through The Night

It was a routine call. The fire had been extinguished swiftly, the child hiding in his closet brought out to his parents safely. The job had taken less than an hour. The team was celebrating in the family’s yard, making the kid laugh to help him forget about the events of the afternoon. But the beam that was slowly working itself loose from the roof had gone unnoticed by everyone.   
  
Buck took off his helmet and ran a hand through his hair as he watched the young family being escorted to the ambulance to be checked over.   
  
“Wait!” the young boy called over his mother’s shoulder. “Did Smokey get out?” His mom turned to look at Buck.   
  
“Our cat. I thought he was outside when the fire started. He likes to sit on the wall out back.”   
  
“Your cat’s name is Smokey?” Eddie chuckled.   
  
“I named him,” the little boy said, proudly.   
  
“I’ll take a look, ma’am,” Buck nodded as he turned back to the house. He was about to head through the gate when a soft meow came from inside the ruined building. He glanced up at the blackened walls before making his way in. The place looked sturdy enough, and the cat didn’t sound too far in.   
  
“Buck!” Bobby called. “Helmet!”   
  
“I’ll just be a minute, Cap!” He disappeared through the doorway, leaving Bobby to shake his head in disapproval.   
  
“Smokey!” he called. “Are you in here?”   
  
Another meow, close by. Buck bent and looked under the sofa. A small, grey cat stared back at him. He meowed again.   
  
“Come on, buddy,” Buck said softly, reaching towards him. “It’s okay. I got you.” He stretched his fingers and took hold of the collar, tugging gently. The cat slowly crawled forwards, and eventually came close enough for Buck to wrap his hand around his middle. “There we go. Shall we get you checked over by the EMTs, too?” Smokey meowed in response. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Buck chuckled and headed back to the door.   
  
A  _ crack  _ above him startled Smokey, who leapt out of his hands and ran outside. Buck heard the relieved cry of “Smokey!” from the kid, and smiled to himself.   
  
“Buck?” Bobby called.   
  
“Coming, Cap!”   
  
Before he could take a step, there was another, louder crack, and the whole room seemed to shudder. He barely had time to look up before the roof was crashing down around him. He tried to shield himself from the debris, but he reacted too slowly. He was buried before he even knew what was happening.   
  
“Buck!” Eddie yelled. He started forwards, but Bobby grabbed his arm.   
  
“Wait!” Bobby eyed the house, watching and listening for any more danger. Nothing moved.   
  
“Okay. Slowly,” he warned. “And  _ helmet _ .”   
  
***   
  
Eddie replayed the afternoon in his head a hundred times. Pulling the wreckage off of Buck, getting him out of the house. Buck not responding to anything, just laying there, as if...    
  
But he was alive. That was all that mattered. He survived a tsunami - he could survive this.   
  
Eddie watched as Buck slept on. It had been hours, and he still hadn’t moved. The team came and went, bringing Eddie coffee and keeping him company. Hen told him about Denny’s day at school, but she knew he wasn’t listening. He just stared. Eventually, she got up, squeezed his shoulder, and left. Nurses came by every so often, trying to get him to go home, saying there was nothing he could do, but he refused. At last, he was left alone. A nurse dropped off a spare blanket for him, but he knew he wouldn’t sleep. He couldn’t.   
  
“I’m sorry, Buck,” he whispered. “I should have known you’d go back in, even without your helmet. You’re such an idiot.” He laughed softly. “I would have done the same thing. Remember when I got myself buried under forty feet of mud? Chimney was so mad that I’d wrecked his rope. But it was worth it to get that kid back to his family. This was over a  _ cat _ . So, maybe I’m not the worst of the two of us.”   
  
He fiddled with his fingers for a minute or two, listening to Buck breathing softly. “I can’t believe how lucky you got, man. Doctors say you’ll be back to work in a few weeks.” He eyed the cast around Buck’s arm. He felt in his pockets for a pen, and scrawled his initials across the plaster.   
  
“I’ll bring Christopher by tomorrow so he can sign it, too. He’s worried about you. Carla says he won’t stop asking when you’re coming home.” Eddie sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. He lost himself in his thoughts for a few moments.   
  
A soft moan brought him back down to Earth. He sat up just as Buck opened his eyes.   
  
“Hey,” he said softly.   
  
“Eddie…?” Buck croaked. “You’re… here…”   
  
“Yeah, I’m here. It’s okay.”   
  
“You’re…”   
  
“What?”   
  
“Alive.” Buck said. He looked confused, but relieved.   
  
“Of course I’m alive, why would you think otherwise?”   
  
“Had a dream. You… the house…” He coughed, and Eddie grabbed the water jug from the table. He poured a cup and helped Buck sit up slightly to drink. Buck settled back into his pillow and closed his eyes, the brief movement exhausting him.   
  
“It was just a dream, Buck. I’m okay. You’re okay,” Eddie soothed him. He squeezed Buck’s shoulder gently. Buck glanced towards the door. “You want me to leave you to sleep?” Eddie asked.   
  
“No, don’t go,” Buck said, a little too quickly. He cleared his throat. “No, it’s okay, you can stay if you want,” he corrected himself.   
  
“I’m not going anywhere,” Eddie assured him. He moved his hand down to the bed, letting it rest there. His fingers brushed Buck’s, and they both tensed.   
  
“I thought you were gone,” Eddie said quietly. “I thought I’d lost you.”   
  
Buck smiled. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”   
  
Eddie laughed.   
  
“Hey,” Buck said. Eddie met his eyes. “Thank you.”   
  
“For what?”   
  
“For saving me, even though I was being stupid. I shouldn’t have gone back into that house without my helmet. It looked safe. I didn’t know… Thank you for coming after me. And for staying.”   
  
“Any time,” Eddie said. “Just don’t make a habit of it.”   
  
“Oh, you know me,” Buck laughed. “I probably will.”   
  
Eddie grinned. “Does it hurt?” he asked, nodding at Buck’s arm.   
  
“Not really. But I think that might be the morphine talking.”   
  
They were silent for a while after that. Buck’s breathing evened out, and Eddie thought he might have fallen asleep again. Watching Buck closely, he reached out and stroked the back of his hand. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he whispered.   
  
Buck was too tired to tell him he was glad, too. Instead, he just lay there, letting the feel of Eddie’s thumb on his fingers lull him back to sleep.   
  
The next morning, Hen came back. She had brought coffee for Eddie and a ‘Get Well’ card from Denny. She opened the door to see Eddie passed out, slumped forwards in the chair with his head on the bed.   
  
Buck waved at her with a smile. She smiled back and held up the card.   
  
_ Thank you,  _ Buck mouthed.   
  
Hen grinned and nodded at him as he looked down affectionately at Eddie, who was snoring into the mattress, his hand still curled around Buck’s.   
  
Hen shut the door softly and shook her head with a smirk. Those boys were going to be insufferable from now on.


End file.
